Aqaba gets gantry cranes

Aqaba Container Terminal (ACT), Jordan's main shipping hub for the Red Sea market, has received two ship-to-shore (STS) cranes to address market demand.

Kim Fejfer, CEO of APM Terminals, was in Aqaba to meet customers and port leaders as part of the port expansion project. He said: "We believe Aqaba's attractiveness will play a much larger role in global supply chains. Its location, market and cost-effective, high productivity operations create a clear edge for shippers."

The STS cranes can handle 18 row post-panamax vessels and perform 30 moves per hour, offering shipping lines cost savings through higher productivity and port capacity. Klaus Laursen, CEO of ACT, said: "We have been working with shipping lines to serve their needs for port infrastructure, technology and service levels suited to their market ambitions.

ACT is a joint venture between APM Terminals Global Terminal Network and Aqaba Development Corporation. In December 2009, the terminal announced an expansion project, including a 460 metres extension of the quay, to increase annual container throughout capacity to two million TEUs.

The port's 2009-2013 action plan calls for capital expenditure of $235 million (Dh863m), bringing total investment since 2006 to $335m. The 500,000 square metres facility will double its wharf length to 1,000m. Despite the severe drop-offs in container traffic worldwide due to the global financial crisis, ACT saw traffic grow by 25 per cent during the first three quarters of 2009. In 2008, container volume at the port surged by 42 per cent to about 600,000 TEUs.

Shadi Al Majali, CEO of Aqaba Development Company and Chairman of ACT Board, said: "Investing in developing the infrastructure and technology is imperative to ensure our port is the business hub of choice for the logistics and transport sector serving the Mena region and the kingdom as a whole.

"The ADC-APM terminals joint venture has proved to be a shining example of a successful public-private partnership."

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